1. Field
The invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more specifically to the field of data synchronization and distribution to a plurality of mobile wireless devices.
2. Background
With the increasing use of wireless satellite communications, consumers and businesses are employing a large number of wireless devices for both personal and business uses. Most wireless devices, or user terminals, are operating a number of software modules or mobile applications at any given moment. One software component that most user terminals employ is configuration data, which consists of the basis parameters through which the remaining mobile applications receive operating instructions. For example, in a mobile terminal that is responsible for vehicle tracking through GPS tracking, the mobile terminal can be configured to report its position periodically through a driver log. The software parameter that instructs the mobile terminal how often to transmit its driver log is an example of configuration data, but the driver log itself is merely a mobile application.
Currently, wireless communication service providers have competing models for how to distribute configuration data to a plurality of mobile terminals, such as a fleet of trucks using a mobile tracking application. In most existing systems, the configuration data is applied at various times, including the initialization of a new mobile terminal, re-initialization of mobile terminals following firmware upgrades, movements between customer accounts and the like. This automated functionality can be very useful in that a customer need not bother with checking whether certain configuration data, such as macros or other parameters, has been delivered following any of the aforementioned events. In the current systems, a customer can set a configuration data value once and then forget about it throughout the lifetime of the mobile terminal.
However, while current systems work well for ensuring timely updates, they do not allow for the customization of existing configuration data or the addition of new configuration data. Unfortunately, these failures are a barrier to the development of new products and new features for existing products. Moreover, any mobile application that is not used with the current distribution systems must design and develop its own method of distributing and maintaining configuration data. As such, the current systems are further limited in their ability to incorporate new mobile applications, and therefore new types of user terminals, into the existing configuration data distribution systems. Lastly, current systems tend to transmit configuration data in bulk passages, thus consuming a disproportionate amount of bandwidth. Especially in satellite communications, the undue consumption of bandwidth is an undesirable effect of the current systems for distributing configuration data.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new system, method and/or apparatus for distributing configuration data to a plurality of mobile terminals in a wireless network. The new method should also seek to minimize bandwidth consumption by optimizing the processes through which user terminals are selected for updating configuration data.